


Words Of Power

by Siddal_Preaker



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Drabble, Dragonborn (Elder Scrolls), Dragonborn - Freeform, Dragonborn DLC, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 14:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11315784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siddal_Preaker/pseuds/Siddal_Preaker
Summary: The lonely fate of a Dragonborn can be a bitter, slow end. Zephyrine defeats Alduin and stumbles upon a new threat ready to quench her thirst of knowledge but at a cost. Miraak is prepared for everything but her. Mora pits two desperate souls against each other and enjoys the show. ((Let's face it, First and Last Dragonborn are the real eternal lovers)) Simple one-shot drabble sequence that goes through the Dragonborn storyline.





	Words Of Power

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking in to read! I have this empty account and a lot of stories/prompts taking up room on flash drives so I figure I'll try to actually share a few bc why not? I loved writing this one and considered doing a sequel for it.

           It was always the actions that spoke over the words.

           Was it really?

           It was the mighty gust of Alduin’s wings, true, that had sent Zephyrine to her knees before him. Yet, it was the word _Yol_ that cascaded down her back in a waterfall of fire to burn the flesh. The mark was near elegant when it scarred diagonally in patterns from shoulder to waist. Though, at the time, the pain unleashed a terror and fury that made her shout soar above all Sovngarde.

            _“Joor Zah Frul.”_

Alduin’s turn to fall came with these syllables, forcing him to land.

           And after, every utter of _Dovahkiin_ , held in the air of sweet whispers or jolly songs.

           Zephyrine pursued the quiet like a lover that had left her behind in this world. These cherished mediations with Paarthurnax in the snow. Locked up in the College of Winterhold, devouring tomes until she ached. Yes, a Dunmer with a taste for magic. It surprised no one. But, a Dunmer becoming the Dragonborn inspired outrage until she proved useful. The knowledge was better, it quenched a thirst unlike any other. Sovngarde and its souls were finally at rest and she woke in the night with terrors. No civility in that, but there was always a price. Always an equal exchange. Fragments of time gone and possibilities to come soured her peace. Zephyrine tossed herself into her magical arts and Paarthurnax was the closest to comfort she could grasp.

           “It is your soul. _Sil_.” He would offer. “You bear the weight of the soul from a _dov_. Set apart.”

           “And I thought being Dunmer was crime enough here.” Her joke roused an echoing chuckle from the ancient dragon.

           “Rest now and dream. _Hahnu_.”

           She begged to differ when another touched her soul. A Daedra.

_“I am the guardian of the unseen, and knower of the unknown. I have been watching you, mortal.”_

           The dreams brought the worst and her pursuit of knowledge cleaved into her flesh. Just as Hermaeus Mora knew it would when Zephyrine first heard his voice after opening the Oghma Infinium. He wanted her so badly to do it but he didn’t beg, of course. He did not need to. He need only wait.

           “I’m not your champion, monster.” She’d hissed, shaken while his many eyes opened and filthy tendrils caressed at her.

           “We will do wonders together. All shall be revealed.” Hermaeus Mora sounded like tar filling the air around her. This monster was patient and gentle in his tone and terrifying because of his certainty. She would come to him again because of fate just as she was born with the soul of a dragon. Because fate demanded it. But, Mora would not make demands of her just yet. He prodded and teased at her in dreams. Joyous and echoing. Somehow, that was worse.

           Zephyrine cherished the quiet, yes, but the loneliness of her own fate burned her more than Alduin’s breath ever did.

           There came a day finally when the word _Dovahkiin_ was spat at her. Deceiver. Pretender.

           The cultists came from her homeland to murder her and Mora’s laughter echoed in her brain. Yes, she would come willingly into his embrace. Because she needed him. Because she needed fate to smile at her and kiss her head. The Greybeards had told her once so long ago that she had not been the only Dragonborn. So many came before and only she emerged as the last in this time. Being the last warranted isolation.

           “Knowledge beckons a terrible price, Dovahkiin. A violence that touches mind, soul, and voice. You know this.” Paarthurnax always gave just council.

           “I have to go.” She clutched the letter taken from a cultist’s body to her chest. Its words would not soon be forgotten.

            _“Board the vessel Northern Maiden docked at Raven Rock. Take it to Windhelm, then begin your search. Kill the False Dragonborn known as Zephyrine before she reaches Solstheim. Return with word of your success, and Miraak shall be most pleased.”_

“Miraak. That name. It’s dovahzul. _Mir-Aak._ Allegiance and guide.”

           “Yes. You have done your studies well.”

           “I cannot find anything on him here. I’m going to Solstheim. I have to know why. Something is terribly wrong.”

           “A trap.” He offered and she nodded.

           “Probably.” Zephyrine would not weep. “Goodbye, my friend.”

** ** **

           Solstheim was an unforgiving land of ash, flourishing only where people have found spaces to call home. It was easy to blend in with the Dunmer of Raven Rock. Frustrating only because none could place the name, Miraak. Mora plunged himself into her mind with hints and pushes, mocking. Finally, she came upon a temple where Nords and Dunmer built like drones with echoing whispers of prayers.

            _“He grows ever nearer to you.”_

_“And when the world shall listen.”_

_“And when the world shall see.”_

_“And when the world remembers.”_

_“That world will cease to be.”_

Zephyrine made her first friend and companion in a Nord, untouched by this spell, Frea. Her thick, heavenly accent was matched with her sharp fighting skills. They delved into the chambers of the ancient temple where Dragon Priests once walked. Where her fingers ached to touch history. Frea was from a lone village called the Skaal. Isolated people who lived at peace with the land and worshipped an All-Maker. Frea sought to save her people from this evil touching the world around them. A noble quest. Zephyrine would not admit her curiosity was driving her deeper into this temple. Through fear and loneliness. Mora drank her curiosity and power in, willing to break her.

           Another book, _Waking Dreams_ , touched by dark magic, opened and this time she was stolen away. Tossed into a hellish abyss where she first saw him, standing broad and tall mere feet away with his back to her. Two floating monsters, Seekers, flocked to his side while green and yellow light swirled along the sky like bile. Zephyrine was awestruck, frozen and he didn’t immediately notice her. But, she felt him from the first. The thick weight of his trapped soul. _Dovahkiin_. He turned with armored, tattered robes and a mask that confirmed he once served the dragons so long ago with the rest of those fallen priests. Sparks sent her down, coursing up her body and she was powerless at long last.

            _Laas Yah Nir._ Life. Seek. Hunt.

           “Who are you to dare set foot here?” His voice harrowing. But there was a strange silence behind every little echo. “Ahh… You are Dragonborn. I can feel it. And yet… So you have slain Alduin… Well done. I could have slain him myself, back when I walked the earth, but I chose a different path.” His tone was mighty with a special brand of narcissism. Zephyrine opened her mouth while she swayed but could not speak.

           “You have no idea of the true power a Dragonborn can wield!” He gave off a shout she’d never once heard of. _“Mul Qah Diiv!”_ Light soared up his body and hovered over his form to give him the illuminated silhouette of a dragon.

           “ _Hermaeus_ … _Mora_.” She managed finally, recognizing the land around him. The tentacle monsters at this man’s side. The tar in the air. “You champion him.”

           “I can tell by your eyes that he’s flocked to you.” Miraak stepped to her and stood even taller, furious in his body language. “And you know me.”

           “ _Miraak_.” She wheezed, still tremoring.

            _Faas Ru Maar._ Fear. Run. Terror.

           “Even now, he’s whispering secrets into your ears and you weep at the thought of him stopping. Knowledge. Truth. Horrid as it may be.”

           “Yes.” Her bottom lip quivered, body shifted backwards away from him but he kneeled only to cup her jaw. His eyes seared even under his mask. It would have been so quick and easy to end her life right here and now.

           “First and last Dragonborn, together because Hermaeus Mora dares to pose us like dolls.” His fingers squeezed just a bit. “Fate demands an equal exchange. Always.” Zephyrine lifted her hand with a spell that snuffed out when his free one gripped her wrist.

           “This realm is beyond you. You have no power here. And it is only a matter of time before Solstheim is also mine. I already control the minds of its people. Soon they will finish building my temple, and I can return home.” Miraak stood, pushing her back from him as he did.

           “You’re not his champion…” Her words seethed, nails digging into the ground while she managed to stand. “You’re just his _servant_.” Two angry spells clashed together and both of them were sent to the floor by the force. Seekers snarled and began to approach but he gave a wordless command, swiping his arm out. Miraak got up first and his voice did well to not betray his fury.

           “It will not be for much longer.”

           “You think…” Zephyrine felt Mora’s tendrils whirling around her from darkness, words sinking into her brain. Eyes split wide and lips curled to grin. Miraak breathed heavily and cocked his head. “You think he’ll let you fly out of this hell?” His shoulders were taut and she exhaled. “You fear him. He knows. There are no secrets here.”

           “There is only what fate has laid out for us.” He was no longer upset. “I presume you’ve already seen some of what I’ve accomplished.”

           “Well, are you going to kill me or will I stop you?”

           Miraak chuckled at that.

           “Neither.” When he turned his back, the Seekers drew closer and shot ancient spells that burned into her muscles. “Send her back where she came from. She can await my arrival with the rest of Tamriel.”

           The pain put her to sleep but it was Mora who ferried her back.

            _Krii Lun Aus._ Kill. Leech. Suffer.

** ** **

           Zephyrine woke in the Skaal village, the black book was clutched still in her grasp. Frea offered her an ear, a companion, and a bed to sleep in. In return, Zephyrine worked with Frea’s father, Storn, shaman and leader of their village. He filled her ear with the dangers of knowledge. The evils of Mora. The price so many pay. She did not deny it, neither did she condemn it. Between nightmares of Mora and Miraak, she cleansed the Earth of his influence as she said she would. But, Zephyrine’s pursuit of the Black Books unraveled her brain and Mora was swimming and splashing in her wake. With pure joy in his many eyes. Miraak was alone when they met next through another Black Book. Neither attacked this time.

           “She’s drunk off the knowledge you’re feeding her.” He uttered to no one. “It’s pleasurable at first. The way Hermaeus Mora splits you open.”

           “It’s painful.” She swallowed. “Am I dreaming?”

           “It would mean that I am as well.” Miraak shook his head. “These people will flock back to my temple soon enough. You cannot save them. You cannot save yourself.”

           “Like you?” She heaved. “I know about you now. I know you served the dragons with those priests and I know you betrayed them with the shout Mora taught you. We both walked a line and dove deep into violent shouts. To meet our own ends.”

           “And that price I paid for this knowledge will be repaid. Completely.” Miraak shifted down a set of steps toward her. “How much did Skyrim pay for their mighty Dragonborn?” He asked before scoffing. “How much did _you_ pay to be their hero? Is that what you are, Zephyrine?”

           “Was it worth it for you, Miraak?” She countered, voice stronger and he paused mid-step. The utter of her name surprised her. “Knowledge and violence clasped hands and told us we’d be powerful. Foolish really. But, some things can never be changed.”

            _Fus Ro Dah._ Force. Balance. Push.

           “You fight valiantly against fate. But, I am stronger here.”

           “Here. Now. I suppose.” Her tone was light and his fists clenched. She did not fear him any longer. Mora had shoved that right out of her.

           “I know things that the Greybeards will never teach you.” Miraak moved down so he was level with her. “Felling Alduin was a mighty deed, and I thank you for it. He would have proved troublesome to me. They wanted to use me to deal with Alduin and the rest. I chose otherwise.”

           “You led a failed rebellion and they desecrated your temple for it. They imprisoned you to Solstheim and Mora put you in his realm…” She peered around. “Apocrypha.”

           “Am I Hermaeus Mora’s favorite subject now?”

           “No, you bored him until I set foot here.” Zephyrine roused amusement from his lips.

           “You believe you are special? Dragonborns have risen and fallen for so many years.”

           “So have Dragons but I put a stop to that.” She paused, sighing against the thick air. “Alduin cannot raise them any longer. You and I will die out because we are unnecessary, yet again. Another tragedy for the tomes.”

           “We are legends in books that will live on for an eternity. Some have yet to be written. Truthfully, I’m glad that you are here with me.” His tone was haunted and fond. “The last Dragonborn will bear witness to my rebirth.” Torn pages swirled through the wind behind him. Black waters rippled distantly and he stood amongst this world without another.

           “Mora brought me here so that I would pity you.”

           “Do you pity me?”

           “No,” her large red eyes flashed at him, sparkling. “I pity myself.”

           “Lies.”

           “I pity myself for believing that I was alone in this world. Foolish. Did you hope once?” She knew the answer. “The first Dragonborn will bear witness to the end. Mora called to me but it was you who wanted me more.”

           “And here you are, just as I asked.” Miraak replied instead, his mask betrayed nothing. “How very kind of you. There is so, so much more to be done.”

           “Because fates wills it or because you do? Or do you not know any longer?” She just stared and Miraak allowed her eyes to pierce him.

           “If only it could be so. In order to subdue this chaotic world, to set things right, I must return to this realm in full.”

           “In full?” She shook her head, her sharp face was tight and sober. “Dragonborns are just fragments of other things. Time. Words. Souls. It’s not possible for us to be anything else but of use to the world around us. We crave a wholeness that only knowledge can provide and…that is never enough.” Yet, in this realm of knowledge and truth, every piece could be hers. The gates would open and spines of books would crack under the weight. She longed to reach out. Miraak’s tone was thick this time.

           “Time draws closer, we will meet again.”

           Mora laughed while he watched, tugging her further from his servant yet again.

** ** **

           This new shout was growing more violent than the Dragonrend. Forcing a dragon to land upon the earth was one thing but to bend the will of the world. What good was it to control the world when another still held your fate over your head like a freshly knotted noose? Zephyrine lost all sleep over these Black Books. The knowledge. The way her Thu’um grew bloodied. Meditation with the Skaal escaped her. Magic crackled at her fingertips. She told herself she wanted only to stop Miraak from breaching into this world. To spare the world another end. She told herself. She never promised.

            _Tiid Klo Ul._ Time. Sand. Eternity.

           Frea kept her on a thin path of sanity. But, the last word called out and Zephyrine longed to taste it. The final piece was inches away and Mora demanded life for life. The secrets of the Skaal who hated and fought him all these years.

           “What if the Skaal refuse to give up their secrets?” She had asked.

           “My servant, Miraak, would have found a way to bring me what I want. So will you if you wish to surpass him.” Mora chided her. Did she? “You will serve me, willing or not. All who seek after the secrets of the world are my servants.” Storn knew what it meant when Zephyrine came to him and his daughter’s pleas were unheard. He lifted the book and Mora impaled him, digging to get what he wanted. Frea begged for it to end and the cold dirt was fresh with blood. The last word of the shout that Miraak had once sought so long ago burned crisp into it. Zephyrine came to her knees and let the power fill her, eyes lifting to the wretched abyss of Mora’s floating vision above while he watched. His laughter rang around her brain. Her own suppressed itself.

           “There could be no other end.” Mora was so at peace. “The steps you have taken have never been yours, but the path fate laid out. The one I know by heart. Come and fulfill my wonders.”

           “Don’t let my father’s death be in vain. Go and stop him, my friend.” Frea was shoving the book into her hands. “My father sacrificed himself so that you could destroy Miraak and lift his master’s shadow from the land. Go, then. Kill Miraak. Do not fail. I know you’ll do the right thing. Go now!”

            _Ven Gaar Nos._ Wind. Unleash. Strike.

           Zephyrine soared along the pages of Apocrypha, growing only stronger while she passed walls crafted from books. Miraak’s serpentine dragon landed and she summoned her breaths.

           “ _Gol Hah Dov!”_ Earth. Mind. Dragon. She bent the will of this mighty creature and watched him bow his head. Sarohtaar regarded her. She thought of Paarthurnax and the great evil she had just committed.

           “I will take you to Miraak.” They flew over black waters. Seekers and Lurkers dwelled, watching, before they landed at the final platform. Where fate would rule. Two lovers. Only of knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Unfinished tomes where Mora would soon write in their blood.

           “Sahrotaar, are you so easily swayed? No. Not yet. We should greet our guest first.“ Miraak turned from his spot at the center and she dismounted, summoning bound swords to her fingertips. Two more dragons framed the stage where Hermaeus Mora would watch and gawk at his pawns. “And so the First Dragonborn meets the Last Dragonborn at the summit of Apocrypha. No doubt just as Hermaeus Mora intended. He is a fickle master, you know. But now I will be free of him. My time in Apocrypha is over. You are here in your full power, and thus subject to my full power. You will die. And with the power of your soul, I will return to Solstheim and be master of my own fate again. Kruziikrel! Relonikiv! Now!”

           Spells clashed together at the same time, shouts matched in harmony. Dragons rose and fell toward the ground. They completed the cycle of Dovahkiins from years past.

           “Mora won’t let either of us go,” she lamented when they clashed enchanted blades. “I’ll stop you if I must.”

           “Fate has already written your failure here today. I’ll tell our story.” Miraak spun and she lunged toward him. “I promise you.” Zephyrine’s shout hit him with the force to knock his mask off and she glimpsed his black eyes.

           “You’re just a man. A Nord. For a moment, I thought you might have scales under there.”

           “They remain under my skin, just as yours.” He knocked her back with a shout while his dragon sprayed fire between them. “I grieve that you must meet your end this way but necessity demands it. Fate decreed that you had to die so that I could win my freedom.”

           “We’ve never had freedom. Mora is still whispering to you as well?” She wiped the blood from her lips and spun, spells crackled together in calculated movements as they paced in a circular motion.

           “Hermaeus Mora is laughing at us, you know…?” Miraak about screamed a word of power and absorbed the soul from one of his dragons to restore his own health, displaying only the rage he’s held in for years. She felt it too. It pained her as well. Zephyrine knocked him backwards and didn’t relent. _First and last_ , her mind raced. _Together. Just as fate intended. Why?_

           “The only being,” she raged, sparks countered his spray of magic, “who could have understood. And I’m fated to end you.”

           “Fate is cruel.”

           “So am I.” She shouted him into the stone roughly, Hermaeus Mora was materializing in splotches all around them.

           “You are strong. Stronger than I believed possible…” Miraak rose with a limp in his step, sword and staff in hand.

           “ _Fus_!” Zephyrine sent him back again and blood dripped from his forehead. He’d absorbed three of his own dragons and still fell by her will. Her bound sword came to touch his chin and disintegrated. “No more.” She gasped for air and stumbled back. “I won’t do it! You hear me, monster!”

           “Pity.” Miraak used his staff to get up and held his sword to her. Zephyrine didn’t move.

           “You want to be a slave to fate? Fine. I’ll have no part. How much knowledge to fill the void? How many more souls? It’ll never end.” She watched him grit his bloodied teeth and tears came to her eyes. “Hermaeus Mora will betray us both. Dragonborn are powerful and perfect for his pursuits but our fatal flaw…restlessness. Hunger. Ache. The need for more. I won’t serve him. To hell with this fate.” Time itself would ripple at this. “To hell with Mora… I want to go home.” Miraak was visibly shaken, eyes wide and alight. 

           “As do I. But, it’s too late for regrets, Dragonborn.” Miraak watched a tentacle wrap around her neck, lifting to squeeze the life from her. His arm shook, he watched and readied to let it happen until her hand reached out to his. His heart, beating like a dragon’s wings, pulled in different directions. Miraak lifted one hand, fingers unable to touch her. Two souls shredded against time. “Far too late.”

           “Miraak harbored fantasies of rebellion against me. Learn from his example. Serve me faithfully, and you will continue to be richly rewarded.” Mora was warning and she kicked around. Miraak kneeled to pick up his blade, ready to end this once and for all.

           “ _No_!”

           “Take your servant then, Mora. I’ve tired of being your pawn.” Miraak’s blade instead stabbed deep into his own chest and Zephyrine’s eyes went wide before she was dropped, lungs burning and begging for air again. Mora could not lose them both. She crawled and coated her fingers in his pooling blood when she reached him. Fists yanked at his shoulders, fingernails digging into his robe and Miraak sighed at the touch of another. More beautiful than all the knowledge in this world. Zephyrine was shouting in her state before reaching out to summon the final Black Book. Her soul caught fire and she screamed before the syllables rang.

           “Away from here. Far away. Away from fate. With him. _I choose him_.” Yes, perhaps words could be as powerful as actions. Miraak watched her close her eyes this time and hold onto him before the light blinded them both and yanked them away from Mora’s grasp one last time. Souls intertwined and fused, completed finally to survive the test of fate.

            _Feim Zii Gron_. Fade. Spirit. Bind.

           Zephyrine dreamed she was a dragon, flying high above the clouds. So high, she’d have to look down to see Sovngarde. But, she let herself spiral when her wings burned away and fell heavy against the ground. The shock woke her and a cough ached from her lungs. Her form was weak and the Black Book was ashes in her arms. Zephyrine turned her head to the body next to her and jolted. Miraak lie with half healed wounds, dried blood along his torn robe. There was grass under her, which told her she was no longer on Solstheim and the crisp air of Skyrim filled her lungs when her breath returned. Unable to move well, she looked at him and her head spun before she reached out and touched his shoulder. As if to ensure he was real and not some vision. He exhaled in response but didn’t stir while her head tumbled back, fingers tangling into fabric to hold tight.

           “We…made it.” She went limp against him, head falling to the side. “We won.”

           The peace of sleep pulled her away with the comfort that for the first time, the quiet of her existence was no longer laced in isolation.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again, I really appreciate it :) Still considering a little sequel.


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